


Every Darkness Begins with Light

by thefruitsofmysoul



Category: Beautiful Creatures (2013), The Caster Chronicles - Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-10
Updated: 2017-02-10
Packaged: 2018-09-23 09:50:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9650363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thefruitsofmysoul/pseuds/thefruitsofmysoul
Summary: Sarafine had always been definitively sure of the fact that she would hold tremendous power one day, even from the time she was known as Izabel. She didn't know how soon this would be accomplished, but she knew that power like that didn't come lightly.





	

"Come play with me, Del!" a five-year-old Izabel Duchannes shrieked gleefully to her older, ten-year-old sister Delphine. The older girl, as a result of being the first-born, wouldn't have a _claimed_ name (only God knows why their mother decided to break tradition with her) and as a result, her name would remain Delphine for all eternity. Izabel, on the other hand, would have to wait until she was a whole _sixteen-years-old_ until she could know her claimed name, "Catch me if you can!"

As she ran around the playground eagerly, wind running through her inky black ringlets, she could hear her older sister giving chase. Delphine was older, slightly taller, and – quite frankly – faster than Izabel was, but Izabel had always been the more cunning. She always knew the best places to hide, and would never stay in one place. Using her mobility proved fairly strategic when playing with Delphine, who was a Palimpsest – a person who could see multiple periods of time all in the same instance. Del would sometimes complain about the headaches that her abilities gave her, but she was slowly learning to get a better handle on them.

"You girls be careful now!" the girls' mother, Emmaline, beckoned to them, her tone a strict, Southern drawl, "Don't get too far away from me, you hear?"

With a quick shout of assent, the girls continued playing, Izabel trying in vain to run away from her older sister. When Del grabbed her by the wrist, Izabel gave a surprised yelp, turning around abruptly in surprise.

"Gotcha." Del grinned good-naturedly, her hazel eyes gleaming with compassion, "How about you try to catch me now, hmm?"

Just as Izabel was about to respond, a large shadow came over the two, a result of the tall man now standing over them. Del pushed Izabel behind her in defense.

"Excuse me girls, I'm wondering if you've seen my dogs." This man had dark, slick black hair – the shade identical to Izabel's – and tawny yellow eyes. Izabel figured that he must've been wearing contacts. Too bad Halloween was months away, "They have rather large muzzles and eyes similar to mine. It would mean the world to me if you could help me find them."

The man tried to give the girls a smile, but Izabel frowned back at him. The smile seemed too forced, even to five-year old Izabel. As she turned to look at her older sister's reaction to the man, she was surprised to see Del scowling up at the man. Del _never_ frowned at anyone. She was the nicest person Izabel knew, so seeing her make such a face at the man gave Izabel the impression that he was bad news.

"Momma said we shouldn't talk to strangers, Silas." Del said quietly, placing a hand gently on Izabel's arm as the younger girl tried to step closer to the man, "We don't want to help you look for your hounds."

The man – _Silas_ as Del referred to him – chuckled deeply, the sound causing a shiver to run up Izabel's spine. She just _knew_ that this man was up to no good.

"Now is that any way to talk to your father, Delphine?" Silas simpered, tilting his head in a faux innocent manner before focusing his gaze on Izabel, "And you must be Izabel. My baby girl. It's so nice to finally meet you."

There were so many things wrong with the situation, but Izabel could only focus on Silas' eyes. They seemed so mesmerizing, and she found herself willing to do anything he asked of her. As he reached for her, appearing to want to hug her, Izabel abruptly snapped out of her trance, gripping the man's arm as harshly as she could in an effort to keep him away from both her and Del.

"Stay away from us!" Izabel cried out, her eyes narrowed in concentration. She didn't quite know what she was concentrating on, but she felt a surge of power erupt through her being.

Silas hissed in annoyance as he wrenched his hand out of her grasp, his skin blistering from where Izabel had previously been holding on. Despite his look of annoyance, Silas gave her a cruel smirk as Del once again attempted to push Izabel behind her.

"Stay behind me Izabel!"

" _Stay behind me Izabel_." Silas mocked, walking up to the pair until he was towering imposingly over them, close enough for them to smell the cologne he was wearing, "Do you _truly_ think that you can keep her a secret from _him_?"

Izabel blinked in confusion. Who was Del trying to protect her from?

Before Izabel could voice her question, she was abruptly lifted up into the arms of her mother, who had suddenly appeared as if out of thin air.

"Leave them alone, Silas." Emmaline didn't yell, quite the opposite really, but her voice was forceful and determined, "They have nothing to do with this."

As Silas chucked, Izabel held on tighter to her mother, though she steadfastly refused to give Silas the satisfaction of turning away from him. Just then, some of the most menacing dogs Izabel had ever seen in her short lifetime slinked towards Silas, sitting at his feet as he acknowledged their presence with a slight raise of his hand.

"It's only a matter of time, dearie." Silas crooned as he reached forwards to cup Emmaline's cheek, raising an eyebrow as she slapped his hand away, "You never used to scorn me like this. Remember all the times we used to share? Not so long ago, hmm? Just look at beautiful _Izabel_."

At this, in the blink of an eye, Silas was in front of her, running a hand tenderly through her curls. Izabel did her best to avoid his grasp.

"No love for daddy? You're hurting my feelings." Silas rolled his eyes, his tone going to a whisper as he continued, "You're going to be something great, something so awe-inducing that no _Light_ person could ever face."

There was an implication in his words, something Izabel didn't fully comprehend until her mother slapped Silas straight across the face. There was a red mark in the shape of her hand-print, and though Silas' eyes had narrowed, Emmaline remained unperturbed.

"None of my children will _ever_ be _Dark_." She spat coldly, and Izabel found herself strongly disliking the meanness of her mother's tone, "They will never be like _you_ , and they _certainly_ will never be like _him_."

Silas gave a nonchalant shrug, stepping back a few paces. As he surveyed the scene before him, cold yellow eyes looking from both of his frowning young daughters to his furious ex-lover, a look of smugness appeared on his lips.

"Until next time, dear ones." Was all he said before he and his hounds abruptly disappeared, a loud ripping sound being the only thing to indicate his absence.

As soon as he was gone, Emmaline placed Izabel on the ground and immediately began inspecting both of her daughters for any signs of harm.

"We're okay momma." Del's voice was slightly shaky, but still she attempted to combat her mother's overprotective measures, "He used his words this time, not his Casting."

Izabel didn't even _want_ to know what Del meant by _this time_. She only had one major question in mind.

"Was that man really my daddy?"

Emmaline paused in her frantic searching, a faraway look in her eyes as she bent down to Izabel's level.

"You listen to me, Izabel." Emmaline said sternly, "I want you to stay as far away from Silas Ravenwood as you can. You hear?"

Though she wasn't given a direct answer, Izabel had already come to her own conclusion.

 _Silas was indeed her long-lost father_.

She had figured that there must've been a very good reason as to why she hadn't ever met her father but after meeting Silas today, she knew that he was a very, very bad man.

Just before Izabel could continue with her line of inquiry, an older girl, her chestnut curls gleaming in the warm sunlight, stepped out from a nearby set of oak trees. She had a semi-bashful look on her face as she approached them.

"Leah Ann, you shouldn't be out here alone." Emmaline's voice was maternal, her tone one that she generally only used with her children, "Arelia must be worried sick!"

The girl – _Leah_ – shrugged her shoulders casually, tilting her head to the side as she scrutinized Izabel carefully, her bright hazel eyes slightly widened in curiosity.

"It's fine Ms. Emmaline. I'm _fifteen_." Leah insisted, her tone slightly exasperated as she refrained from rolling her eyes, "Is this Izabel?"

Izabel got the sense that this girl would be a lot nicer than the mean man and as such, began to reach for her. With a quick glance at both Del and Emmaline, Leah bent down and lifted Izabel into her arms, smiling widely as Izabel giggled cheerily in response.

"She's just turned five." Del beamed proudly, running a hand through her baby sister's hair, "She already knows how to read really well. She could be an English major when she grows up!"

Though she didn't know what an English major was, Izabel nodded her head vigorously in agreeance. If Del believed she could be one, so be it.

"Who are you?" Izabel queried, reaching upwards to play in a strand of Leah's hair, "Are you like the mean man from before?"

As Leah raised an eyebrow, Emmaline pursed her lips. Something was obviously bothering her, but it was evident that she wasn't going to say much in front of the younger girls.

"Silas." Was all she said.

Leah nodded her head in understanding before turning back to Izabel, her eyes still kind though her face looked more severe.

"That mean man is our daddy." Leah murmured carefully, watching Izabel's features carefully to gauge her reaction to her words. Sensing that the younger girl was listening attentively, Leah continued, "I'm your big sister, Leah. I have a different mommy, but that man is _our_ daddy. Do you understand, Izabel?"

Izabel nodded silently. She didn't understand how people could have different mommies and the same daddy, but she trusted Leah's words. She seemed nice enough.

"What kind of Caster is she?" Leah was addressing Emmaline now, content with petting Izabel's hair, "Palimpsest like Del? An Evo? A Succu…"

"She's a _Natural_." Emmaline cut her off, her tone slightly sharp. At seeing Leah's slightly crestfallen features, Emmaline took a deep, calming breath before continuing, "I didn't mean to snap at you. I just don't want to get her involved in Silas' world before…"

"I get it." Leah raised a hand in surrender, "Dad's a pain. Abraham's worse. The usual."

There was silence for a while before Izabel broke it.

"Who's Abraham?"

Another silence descended upon them.

"He's related to us." Del settled on, her eyes slightly downcast, "But he's a very bad man. Do you understand Izabel?"

Izabel nodded. If Del thought he was a bad man, then she certainly didn't want to meet him.

"What did than man mean when he said that I'm going to be something great?" Izabel continued, her head titled to the side in confusion, hazel eyes wide, "Isn't that a good thing?"

"It's a good thing if you're _Light_ , Izabel." Emmaline explained gently, taking her daughter back from Leah, "Being _Dark_ is never a good thing. It means you can't control your more…mean instincts."

Izabel frowned. She certainly didn't want to be a _mean_ person. She wanted to be nice like Del and Momma and Leah.

"I'll never go Dark, momma." Izabel said quietly, her tone as somber as a five-year-old's voice could get, "I'm gonna turn Light. I promise."

Emmaline smiled at her sadly, confusing Izabel even more. Shouldn't she be happy? She did, after all, promise not to be Dark. So why was her momma not happy?

"I know you'll try." Was all she said in return.

Izabel didn't know what she meant, or why Del's eyes suddenly got very wide, or why Leah wouldn't look at her.

"What's wrong Del?" Izabel asked her curiously. She figured that out of everyone around her, Del would be the easiest to talk to.

Abruptly, Del's eyes narrowed for a while before a blank expression came over her face. She attempted to smile kindly at Izabel, but what gave her away was the way her eyes began to water, as if she had just seen something terrible.

"It's nothing Izabel. Sometimes I can be wrong." Del said gently, cupping Izabel's cheek softly in her hand, "Don't worry about it. You're going to be very strong when you're older."

A pleased expression lit up Izabel's features. Had she been older, she would've questioned what exactly it was that she shouldn't be worrying about, or what Del saw that made her tear up. Yet, Izabel was five and only one thing stuck out to her…

_She was going to be powerful._

**Author's Note:**

> Not sure where this idea came from, but we'll see how this goes.


End file.
